What a Weekend!

We've just come through a crazy weekend. Friday night the kids school Carachipampa had Palooza highlighting the arts. Students were invited to enter artwork, poems, writing, culinary works and or music pieces. The evening displayed the works and musical numbers were presents for the audience. Our very own Sarah sang a solo and her poem one 2nd place in the elementary category. It was a great evening enjoying the gifts and talents of the students.

Saturday we finally got to the baby wash. Every Saturday in the main city plaza a group of people come for 1 hour with baby tubs, large garbage bins with water, food and new clothes. There are many people here in Bolivia that don't have access to water. Ladies carry their babies on their backs for hours a day and children don't have places to be washed. At the baby wash the little ones and stripped downed and cleaned head to toe and then given a new outfit to wear. The other children can have their hair washed over the large garbage bins. Then they sit and get their hair combed out and are given a barrette or ponytail or braids. There are also girls there willing to paint little girls fingernails. Everybody that comes to the babywash ( parents and kids) are given a drink and a bun.

Sunday we visited one of the other Baptist churches here in Bolivia that our friends attend along with a couple from Canada who had just arrived with a team on Friday. The team had split up and visited 3 different churches. After church we all ( team Bolivia and team from Canada) went out for a fabulous lunch. Later in the afternoon everyone descended on our house for the Gold Medal hockey game. We have close to 30 people in our apartment, 11 of those being children.

Duane Guthrie invited another family who are missionaries here from the US. They arrived with a plastic US flag tablecloth to boost the rivalry. Most everyone gathered around our 20" TV and watched the game of course with Spanish commentators. Great Fun was had by all.

Oh and did I mention that I did all this with a sprained ankle. Thursday morning during a torrential downpour, as we were running out of the market I fell in a hole in the street and twisted my ankle. Luckily I didn't break it as I thought I might have.

All in all it was a crazy but exciting weekend.